Edmund Cantilli

Title: Professor Emeritus
Company: New York University Tandon School of Engineering
Location: West Hempstead, New York, United States

Edmund Cantilli, Professor Emeritus of New York University Tandon School of Engineering, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Educators for dedication, achievements, and leadership in transportation planning and engineering.

Recognized for more than four decades of invaluable contributions to the field and for enlightening future generations of professionals, Dr. Cantilli is noted for his work in the academic field and in ensuring safety in transportation. He is honored for the many achievements he has contributed to the field which include developing daylight running lights, methods of severity evaluation of accidents, identifying priority-setting and treatment of roadside hazards, and transportation system safety methodology. In addition, Dr. Cantilli has developed expert systems for improving traffic safety, introduced diagrammatic traffic signs and collision energy-absorption devices. Dr. Cantilli has also written articles about a safer airplane that was suppressed by the government.

With an unmatchable drive, Dr. Cantilli attended Columbia University to earn an AB and a BS in 1954 and 1955 respectively. Knowing the importance of an education, he continued at Yale University Bureau of Highway Traffic to receive a Certificate of Graduation in 1957. He attended the esteemed New York University Tandon School of Engineering to receive a PhD in transportation planning and engineering in 1972. Furthermore, he is a certified forensic engineer through the BCFE, a certified planner through the AICP and APA, and a registered professional engineering and planner in New York, California and New Jersey.

Early in his career, Dr. Cantilli worked for one of the world’s largest transit agencies, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as a supervising engineer in safety research and studies. Following this work, he joined the facility at his alma mater, NYU, to become a professor of transportation and safety engineering. Dr. Cantilli held this role from 1969 to his retirement in 1990. That same year he was also named a Professor Emeritus of the institution. In addition to his career in teaching, Dr. Cantilli lead Urbitran Associates for nearly a decade as president, was the executive director of the International Institute for Safety in Transportation, Inc. from 1977 to 1995. Furthermore, he has served as President of EJC Safety Associates, Inc. and as an expert witness for Accident Cases.

Dr. Cantilli is also honored as a United States veteran, having served with the U.S. Army from 1945 to 1949 and from 1950 to 1951. In his career, he has served as an Italian teacher and as an advisor to doctorate students with the NYU program. He has applied his skills as a forensic engineer and expert. From 1980 to 1998, Dr. Cantilli provided his services as an advisor to doctorate students at the Politecnico di Milano. From 1987 to 1997, Dr. Cantilli joined the faculty at the Universidade de Lisboa as a visiting professor in transportation safety engineering. He has written and published works on various topics about transportation and safety, including “Transportation and the Disadvantaged: The Poor, the Young, the Elderly, the Handicapped” and “Programming Environmental Improvements in Public Transportation.” He maintains fellowships with the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Institute of Transportation Engineers and the National Academy of Forensic Engineers.